On behalf of my co-founders â€“ Mr. Paul Green & Mr. Ram Ragoo â€“ it is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I introduce you to our new association, United States of America Association of Cricket Officials (USAACO â€“ http://usaaco.org). This is a New Jersey based Not-for-Profit and US 501 [c] [7] organization (formally known as NJSCUA) created to serve the increasing need of highly qualified Umpires and Scorers across the USA.

We are very privileged to be here at a most auspicious time in history and to be affiliated with England and Wales Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials (ECB ACO). Our new association is uniquely positioned to play a significant supporting role in the development of top quality Umpires and Scorers in the USA. I am excited to serve as your President of USAACO and commit myself to serving this association with the highest level of integrity and principles to the best of my abilities.

The vision for USAACO is to make it a unrivaled association capable of delivering the most sophisticated platform for online training to members pursuing Umpiresâ€™ and Scorersâ€™ certification, supplemental educational pursuits, and other enriching experiences (i.e. coaching and mentoring), and to take USAACO to a recognizable level by:

a) Operating for educational purposes for Cricket Officials, and shall have as its unique purpose to promote quality education, training and development of Cricket Umpire and Scorers as mandated by Cricket Laws, its Principles, and History.

b) To be the governing body for Cricket Officials namely, Umpires, Scorers, other Match Officials, etc., within the USA.

One of the main objectives this year is to increase the number of certified Umpires and Scorers throughout the USA. This will be accomplished by enacting a comprehensive training program, recruiting more members, building a collaborative environment that engenders a high performance culture, and executing a tight tactical and strategic roll-out plan that focuses on realistic timelines.

The ECB ACO Umpiresâ€™ Training course materials are already in our possession, which is a testament of ECB ACOâ€™s unflinching support for our organization.

With full support from my co-founders and ECB ACO, I pledge to offer timely communication, an updated website, and a fair and amiable learning environment.

During 2015, the following two courses will be offered in the USA. Year 2016 will have more advanced courses.

1. ECB ACO Level 1 for Umpiresâ€™

2. ECB ACO Level 1 for Scorersâ€™

Of importance, the materials and training will meet the strict requirements mandated by the ECB ACO standards and the same as offered throughout the UK and ICC-Europe Region.

Candidates would receive a certificate from ECB ACO after successful completion of every course/level, which goes without saying, is accepted world-wide.

Enrollment is effective immediately for the courses that will commence the 3rd week of February 2015.

(coming up soon) Additional information may be acquired from the FAQ regarding the courses. Please bookmark our website http://usaaco.org where you will find complete information about our association and course offerings.

Our affiliation offers a recognizable distinction that sets our association apart from those existing today. Highlights of the England and Wales Cricket Board Association of Cricket Officials (ECB ACO) are as follows:

a) ECB Association of Cricket Officials represents Scorers and Umpires for and on behalf of the national governing body, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

b) ECB ACO is the membership organization responsible for the recruitment, training and development of all cricket officials. There are currently approximately 9,000 members from around the world making this the largest organization of Cricket officials in the world.

I would be remiss if I did not pay a special homage to those who supported, guided, and offered coaching in the development of our new association. The very existence of this organization would not be possible without the allegiance of the following individuals:

? Mr. Nick Cousins, SEO, ECB ACO â€“ for his understanding and steadfast support in starting this new organization.
? Mr. Peter McKenzie, RAO, ECB ACO, Midlands â€“ for his unwavering advice, support, and pivotal role in the formation of this organization
? (late) Mr. Graeme Lowrie, Timaru, New Zealand â€“ who has been my personal umpiring coach, mentor, and someone who has immeasurably contributed to the cause of training on the Laws of Cricket, for audience worldwide.
? Mr. Ben Francis, ECB ACO Office â€“ for believing and supporting the mission of this organization.
? Mr. Martin Gentle, ECB ACO Membership Manager â€“ for his steadfast backing for accepting our members within a quick turnaround time.
? Mr. Geoffrey Trett & Mr. Peter Danks, ECB ACO Scorers Committee â€“ for their assistance with the scoring course
? Mr. Doug Cowie, New Zealand, (Former) ICC Umpiresâ€™ Manager â€“ for his operational assistance and guidance in aiding our umpires.
? Mr. Barry Rennie, CA Ump Trainer, WACA Umpiring Coordinator â€“ for his assistance over the years to our umpires.
? My two co-founders - Mr. Ram Ragoo and Mr. Paul Green - without whose support and active interest, this venture would not have been possible.
? Finally, to everyone who have inspired us and guided us this far.

I thank you for your time and interest in joining our association and I welcome you as a new member to USAACO. I look forward to serving you well as the President of our new association. Should you require additional information, please contact me at president@usaaco.com.

Warm regards,

~Deepak Katte

on behalf of Management Committee, USAACO

USAACO - Member Announcements:

USAACO - Public Announcements:

Great opportunity to become ECB ACO Qualified Umpire from USA

Thursday, December 1, 2016

New Page 1

On behalf of my co-founders, Paul Green & Ram Ragoo, I wanted to let you know about upcoming ECB ACO
(UK) Umpire’s Certification courses offered in USA for year 2017.

It is worthwhile to note that USAACO is the ONLY ECB ACO authorized
Training organization in USA and all the courses offered by USAACO are
approved by ECB ACO and are listed on their website:

(search function doesn’t always work as expected. You may have to navigate to
the page to list the course )

ANYONE interested to enroll from ANYWHERE outside of Europe, that has a computer
with a sound card and an internet connection, can enroll and peruse the training
from the comforts of their home and still obtain an ECB ACO Certification (that
comes from UK right to their doorstep).

If you or anyone you know are interested, please e-mail me at President@
USAACO .org for
relevant application forms.

All
candidates who participate in training and
successfully complete relevant
examination/assessment will receive a certificate
from ECB ACO, UK (at his door step) usually within
30 days upon successfully completing the exam (from
UK).

b)To
enroll for L-1A – Must have passed L-1, completed
the L-1 workbook and Umpired in at least TEN (10) -
40 overs games (or its equivalent) the preceding
season

3. Deadline
to submit applications – COB
Jan 10th, 2017

4. Enrollment
Process:

a) Those
interested can e-mail at President@
USAACO .orgexpressing their
intent, wherein we will then e-mail back the
relevant ECB ACO & USAACO application
forms. Candidates will then complete the forms and
mails back completed forms along with a check.

b)
USAACO will file then for ECB
ACOOverseas Membership for
each of the candidates, on your behalf. ECB
ACO courses with us cannot be taken without this
membership.

c)
USAACO will
mail the training materials to your address and
start the training on the date specified. Any
last-minute changes will be communicated
accordingly.

5.
A bit about USAACO :

As NJSCUA (The
New Jersey State Cricket & Umpire's Association - http://NJSCUA.com),
we had been one of the few cricket leagues in US to
run both the Cricket tournaments & TRAIN Umpire's
via for Certification (from WICUA through its US
affiliate), from 2009 through 2014. We stopped the
cricket operations ending with season 2012 but
continued with the Umpire's training till 2014.

In 2014,
we aligned with ECB ACO (UK) as
their affiliate and were authorized to conduct their
Umpire's and Scorer's Training in USA.

My
Co-Founder Mr. Ram Ragoo & I are the ONLY 2 ECB
ACO Authorized Umpire's & Scorer's Trainers in
USA. We are West Indies Cricket Board qualified
apart from Certifications from other cricket boards
from across the world. We have been training for
over 7+ years in USA.

As of year
2017, we have around 50+ participants from around
USA & overseas, enrolled for ECB ACO Umpiring &
Scoring Courses. There is actually one member
enrolled from India who successfully completed L-1
course (beauty of technology).

6.Umpire's
Exchange Program:

As if an
icing on the cake & for the benefit of our members, USAACO has established Umpire's
Exchange Programwith ECB
ACO & Cricket Auckland. In
June 2016, FOUR (4) USAACO Umpiresare
selected to go to UK for 2 weeks of Umpiring in
Nottinghamshire County in ECB ACO organized games.
This program is now expanded to SIX (6) slots for
2017.

In Nov
2016, TWO
(2) of our Umpires went on to officiate in
Auckland, in the games organized under the aegis of
Cricket Auckland/Cricket New Zealand. For
2017, this program will be expanded to
FOUR (4) slots.

This is a
great ongoing program and a huge achievement for any
organization which gives a great opportunity for its
members to go to UK & New Zealand to experience
Umpiring in foreign conditions.

There are
two other major destinations that we are currently
in talks with for the Umpire Exchange Program. The
same will be confirmed soon.

On behalf of my co-founders Ram Ragoo, Paul Green and our members, it is with great pleasure I announce our first Umpire exchange with Auckland Cricket is successfully setup with Umpire Winston D Souza with Umpire Jennifer S representing USAACO as the first candidate.

We remain indebted to our dear friend, former ICC Umpire's Manager and former International Umpire, who currently serves Cricket NZ and Cricket Auckland in various capacities, for this magnanimous gesture, help and for facilitating this program for the benefit of USAACO Umpires.

Winston and Jennifer will land in Auckland on Nov 23rd. Winston, amongst his hectic travel plans, will officiate his first game on the 27th Nov, 2016 along with one of the established local Umpire in the games held under the aegis of Cricket Auckland.

Other games may be in order for Winston based on his availability and travel plans.

Please join me in wishing the very best to Umpire's Winston and Jennifer, who are getting this great opportunity to improve their skills and experiences from these exchanges.

USAACO is committed to providing its member's the best Umpire's education and facilitate these exchange programs. We already had FOUR of our Umpires who went to UK in 2016 to officiate in ECB ACO games, which will be expanded to SIX (6) slots for 2017 (thanks to Mr. Peter McKenzie, RAO, ECB ACO & ECB ACO).

There are 2 more such programs being discussed with relevant contacts that are currently in the pipeline. More info on that when plans are concrete.